Judge allows delay in 'Bachelor' star's fatal accident trial

Chris Soules appeared on "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With The Stars." (Buchanan County Sheriff's Office)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A judge has given an Iowa farmer-turned-reality television star more time to prepare a defense against a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Chris Soules appeared on "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With The Stars." He faces trial after driving his pickup into the back of a farm tractor and killing a neighbor last April in northern Iowa. He reported the accident immediately but left before police arrived.

Judge Andrea Dryer on Monday waived a requirement that Soules' trial must be held within a year of his arrest, allowing it to be scheduled past April.

She also reaffirmed her denial last month of his motion to dismiss the charge. Soules claimed Iowa's law requiring surviving drivers to remain at a fatal accident until police arrive is unconstitutional.